Fire and Ice, Earth and Sky
by smokepelt
Summary: Sisters Astraea and Yue were always different. Their adopted mother, Kya, had kept them secret for their own protection. When she knew they were needed, Kya brought them out of hiding. Together with Team Avatar, can they realize their destinies before it's too late? I own none of the original LoK, and pairings are TBA!
1. New Arrivals

**I hope this works. I came up with the idea a few weeks ago, but… well, here's the first chapter.**

Korra, Mako, and Bolin were practicing in the compound. Rejuvenated from the vision with Aang and the other past Avatars, Korra realized her bending was stronger than ever. She smiled when the boys glared at her enviously.

"Kya?" Katara inquired, stepping out of her little house. The Healer's daughter jumped down from her Sky Bison, smiling at her family. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I heard the Avatar was down here again and figured it would be a good time to visit. Bumi and Iroh are doing a fantastic job repairing Republic City, Tenzin." She grinned wickedly at her brother's horrified expression. "However, I didn't come here just to visit. I wanted a few people to meet Korra."

Korra glanced up at the Wind Buffalo again and noticed for the first time two girls sitting on it bareback. She felt something stir inside her. "You adopted them, didn't you?" she asked, remembering what Katara had told her.

"In a sense," the eldest answered for Kya. "I'm Astraea, and this is my sister Yue."

Bolin tilted his head slightly. "Are you both Waterbenders, too?"

"No," Astraea replied with a grin.

Yue shrugged. "Well, not entirely," she chimed in. "I am. And a Bloodbender." Pride shone in her eyes, along with something else.

"Don't be modest, Yue." Astraea leaped down from the bison with the grace of an Airbender. From her expression, she had the personality of a Firebender. Her gold eyes rivaled her sister's silver. Korra examined Yue more closely and realized that along with being a Water- and Bloodbender, she had the stature of an Earthbender. If that was even possible, the two were like halves of the Avatar. "If you're wondering, Korra, all your guesses are right."

Her jaw dropped. "How?" she exclaimed.

"Not sure. We were born like this." Astraea grinned at Mako and Bolin, who were both stunned. "I'm a Firebender, Airbender, and lightning and energy. Together we can cloud-bend and sand-bend."

"I'm a Waterbender, Earthbender, Bloodbender, and Metalbender," Yue continued. "If it's any indication, we have almost opposite personalities."

Kya turned to Katara. "I would have told you, Mother, but I was afraid of exposing them before they were ready. Republic City is slowly fixing itself, and I think it's time for the girls to help the Avatar as the Moon Spirit told me they should."

"Yue," Katara remarked fondly. "Sokka loved her first. I'm glad he found Suki. You said you saw Bumi and Iroh? How are they?"

"I think Iroh is kind of cute," Asami whispered to the newcomers. She had joined the group in time to hear their story and wondered if they really could bend so much.

Astraea glared at her. "If you don't believe us, just say so. Not only can we bend, but we can do it psychically." On cue, a gust of wind blew toward the rich girl and messed up her hair. Asami held Astraea's blazing eyes with a challenge of her own before turning away. "The first Yue, like Kya said, warned her that we would have to help you, Korra. We can teach you all we know, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to do everything we can. You're already quite powerful enough." She fixed her glare on Bolin. "Remember I can hear your thoughts, Bo. Energy, remember? I'll be watching you." Yue blinked apologetically at her sister's protectiveness.

"Wait," Mako interrupted. "Did you say that Kya sort of adopted you? What happened to your parents?"

Yue turned shy all of a sudden; Astraea stepped in front of her as if she could shield her sister from the memory. Sadness crept into her indignant gaze. "They were killed. Yue was five, and I was seven. We lasted three years on our own before Kya took us in." Anger replaced her grief. "I would do anything to protect her, as I'm sure you noticed. We taught ourselves our bending when we noticed we were different."

"I'm so sorry," Korra began.

Astraea shook her head. "Don't be. Things happen. I know these Probender bros have nearly the same story as us. By the way, great job in the tournament. All of you." She wanted to get off the subject fast, seeing the state Yue had locked herself in.

"Why don't I show you to Beifong? She's an awesome Metalbender." Bolin looked at Yue pleadingly, as if he suddenly wanted to protect her, too. Astraea knew that it just came with her personality. "Maybe she can show you something you don't know."

Yue glanced at her older sister, who nodded encouragingly. Mako and Astraea both watched their siblings go. "If he can help her forget, it might be for the best. I know it took a lot for him to forget about our parents." Mako met Astraea's gaze sympathetically.

"Korra!" Tenzin called. "We should get some Airbending practice in while we can."

"Coming!" she responded. The young Avatar turned to Astraea. "Want to practice together?" she offered. "Later we can work on Firebending, too. I know Mako loves new opponents."

Surprised at her kindness, Astraea gazed in the direction of where Yue went. "It'll be okay," Mako assured her. "Bolin doesn't hurt anything or anyone. I'd like to see what you can do, anyway." _Up against me _– the words were unspoken, but Astraea felt the flame of a challenge spark inside her. Unlike Asami, who she barely trusted for whatever reason, she knew that she could believe the Fire Ferret team.

"Sure," she accepted after a moment's hesitation. "Lead the way."

**Sorry, my first chapters never have much action. I'll try not to make the OC sisters Mary-Sue, but please tell me if they start to come off like it. I have a lot planned for this story, if I get readers, anyway. Otherwise, this is going nowhere. Stick around and review, and I'll update as often as I can! **


	2. Warnings

Avatar Korra gasped for breath as Astraea looked down at her. "How'd you do that?" she demanded, leaping to her feet.

"Practice," Astraea answered, her eyes gleaming. "I'll teach you if you want."

Mako looked as though he wanted to learn, too. Astraea went over her combination slowly, making sure they understood every aspect of it, especially the hardest part at the tail end. When they had finished, she sensed her sister and Bolin before she saw them walking toward the group. Yue was bright-eyed for the first time in what seemed like forever. Astraea was suddenly mad at Bolin, even though he had helped the other sixteen-year-old out of some of her depression. Others would never know it at first glance, whereas he did. Yue was laughing about something that happened when they finally reach the others. Astraea forced her face into a stoic mask.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Korra commented.

Yue shrugged. "I like learning new things. How far did you get with Astraea?"

The eighteen-year-old abruptly felt left out, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. All her energy seemed to vanish into thin air; she suddenly felt exhausted as well. "Can we head inside? I'm not much good without rest." Jealous of her sister's ability to make friends so easily, she pointedly ignored the younger girl. Puzzled, Korra led the way across the compound to the houses.

Mako fell into step beside Astraea. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

He sighed. "You know what I'm talking about. When Yue and Bo showed up, you completely changed. I know you want to protect her, but it won't get any easier if you don't let anyone else in." He met her glare with a calm gaze.

Astraea turned away. "You don't know what you're talking about," she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I know you don't want her to leave you behind," he murmured before going to catch up to Korra.

_You're an idiot, Astraea! _she mentally screamed at herself. _Mako is really nice and you almost blew up on him! He was only trying to help! _It was true that she hardly let anyone in. Subconsciously she whispered: "I left her behind once. I'm not going back."

Yue caught up to her. "What's up? You have your thinking face on." She flashed a tentative smile.

"Nothing, little moon. Just deciding what we should teach Korra first," she lied. "Anyway – where's Asami?"

"With Pema and the children. She was pretty mad when I last saw her." Yue gazed proudly at Astraea, causing the last of her bitter anger to dissipate. "You definitely challenged her before."

Astraea only shrugged it off. "You know me. Sometimes I think; others I jump into a fight. I can't help myself." She smiled wickedly, and Yue laughed.

"You certainly know how to make someone feel uncomfortable in their own skin," she teased. "Only… it goes the other way, too. You can make people feel at home when you want to."

_But I can't stop from hurting people in the process, _she replied silently. Outside she took an air of authority; inside she was as confused as she had been in the first place. No matter how much she loved and protected her sister, some things were best kept secret.

And she was sure something was… _off _about Asami.


	3. Confusion

After a good night's sleep, Yue looked over to her sister's bed and saw Astraea was still dozing. All her worry came back with a jolt, making her stomach clench. The smell of food drifted under the door. Bolting upright, Astraea's wild eyes calmed as they recognized the room in the South Pole. Yue went over to her.

"Are you okay?"

Shaking her head as if to clear it, Astraea replaced it with a nod. "Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" Yue knew she was lying but, like yesterday, remained silent.

Korra knocked. With a word from Yue, she walked in. "We're leaving today, if that's okay with you two. Tenzin and Lin don't like to be away from Republic City for this long, and I have to say I agree with them after the Amon incident."

"Sure," Astraea replied, stifling a yawn. Her younger sister flashed her a worried look that she took no notice in.

"First we have to get something to eat. Pema and Katara made us all breakfast." Her expression showed a little sadness. "I heard Kya left during the night."

"Without saying goodbye." Astraea stood and stretched. "Typical."

Confusion flickered in the Avatar's gaze but was quickly disguised. Yue glanced at the eighteen-year-old. "We'll see you in a bit." Without waiting for a response, she ushered Korra out of the room. Closing the door, she leaned heavily against the wall. "Before you ask, I have no idea. But it's scaring me."

"Maybe Tenzin can have a word with her," Korra suggested in a low voice.

Pushing away the urge to shiver, Yue walked with Korra toward the sound of lilting voices. Not even Bolin could draw her out of her misery. She knew, without any shadow of doubt, there was something Astraea was not telling her. _If she still doesn't want to leave me behind, she would tell me, _Yue thought bitterly as she ate her share.

###

The ride to Republic City was not too long, especially after the sisters had been there once before. Astraea could not shake the feeling something was wrong; Yue grew more and more concerned. Everyone on Team Avatar noticed but said nothing.

Almost as soon as they joined Iroh and Bumi at Air Temple Island, Asami started flirting with the general. Astraea tried not to glare after the rich girl. Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo all made themselves comfortable in their home. Members of the White Lotus came up and began to talk to Tenzin and Lin. They drew away for more privacy. Korra headed in to help Pema and Rohan get settled; of course, Mako followed.

"Quite a group here."

The sound of her uncle's voice made her jump. "What do you mean?" Astraea asked, trying to hide her jittering nerves.

Bumi eyed her without emotion showing on his face. Despite being crazy, she knew he was ridiculously intelligent when he wanted to be. Now seemed like one of those times. "Kya raised you, didn't she?" He avoided her own question.

"Yeah, she did. That kind of makes you my uncle. Haven't we gone over this?"

"Perhaps," he laughed, not at all sounding crazy. "Come for a walk with me. You need to calm down, and I need someone to talk to – who _doesn't _treat me like the maniac I am." He crooked a wry smile, which somehow reassured Astraea. "You'll see what I mean once I'm through with you."

_So he is going to answer me, _she thought, falling into step beside him. _Just… not in the way I originally figured. _

She no longer saw him as a _complete _maniac. But then, she told herself, that might be because she was starting to lose it, too.


	4. Power in Memory

**Usually I wouldn't update this quickly, but in honor of my birthday I'm going to. **

"You've had it hard," Bumi commented without looking at Astraea. "Half of an Avatar, with all the memories that the Avatars don't share with Korra herself. Yet you're less important than her."

"Thanks?" Her eyebrows arched. "Wait… those are _Avatar _memories? I thought they were just nightmares."

Bumi crooked a grin. "Exactly. You can only summon them at will when Korra is in danger and is somehow blocked from her spiritual self. Just like Yue can only call on the Moon and Ocean Spirits when she absolutely has to, and she doesn't even know her connection with them."

"You won't tell her, will you?" she demanded, still fiercely protective of her sister no matter what was going on inside her own troubled life.

"It's not my place to." He did glance at her then. "Nor is it yours, so don't bother."

Astraea slowly shook her head. "Of course not." She was worried, but she had her own mess to sort through. Yue could handle whatever came her way. She had been able to for years, which was why Astraea tried to keep her from growing up so fast. A thorn pierced her heart, and she turned away from her uncle. They walked on in silence for a while, giving her time to think.

She had always thought she'd left Yue behind once, but what if it had been the other way around? She had known since their parents died that Yue could handle herself and anything that came her way… yet Astraea had been afraid of leaving her behind. Maybe…

Without warning, she was thrown into a memory that was too real.

_Yue came running up to Astraea. "We have to get out of here!"_

"_Why?" Astraea struggled to her feet, not putting weight on her injured ankle. It was twisted pretty badly. "What did you do this time?" she continued, taking in her sister's panicked expression._

"_Nothing…" she answered evasively, sliding Astraea's arm around her shoulders to help the older girl walk – or, rather, limp. "We just have to find someplace else to stay."_

_Because hobbling did not amount to speed, they were quickly surrounded by thugs who radiated fury. Yue seemed ready to let Astraea sink to the ground when she did something unthinkable: psychic Bloodbending. "What did you just do?" Astraea exclaimed as Yue took the time to try healing her again. Her own energy blocked it once more, and Astraea shook her head. "Don't try, little moon. We should get out of here before you weaken and release them." She wrapped air around her foot like an extra bandage and tested her weight. She could barely walk with it, but it would have to do._

_The scene shifted to later that same day. Both girls were panting from the long run, and Astraea had collapsed in a hidden alcove on the beach. Yue suddenly got up and left. Astraea started a fire as cold night air swept toward her, wondering where her sister could possibly go without causing trouble. The next day around high noon, she returned, radiating happiness. Astraea glowered at Yue, who sobered from her glee. _

"_Thanks so much," she snapped. _Before she could hear the rest of it, the memory ended. Astraea touched her hands to her temples to block an oncoming headache. The ache had returned to her ankle, a reminder that she could not escape her past no matter what she tried. "Oh, spirits…"

They'd stopped while Astraea was engulfed by the vision. Iroh walked up, his eyes shadowed with concern. "Bumi! Are you both okay?" His gaze never left Astraea.

Fire danced in the amber depths, seemingly reaching her and warming her cold body. She pushed the feeling away. "We're fine," she replied, holding back her ever-present anger. So it was Yue who'd left her. It was Yue who could hold her own. All Astraea had done was tried to let Yue be a kid longer.

"You're Astraea," he realized, "right?"

"The same." She shrugged. "Why?"

His expression was devoid of emotion, but something flickered beyond the flames. "No reason. Yue was just concerned, is all." It was a lie, she knew, but she did not press for answers. So far the general had done nothing to anger her, and hopefully it would stay that way. She was not sure what would happen if she got mad at someone as powerful as him.

There was a question there, too. "She doesn't have to worry," Astraea said, letting some of her fury spill out into that sentence. Iroh winced at the venom in her voice. "But I'm touched." It was another lie, one that could be seen at the South Pole because of her tone. She wanted nothing to do with her sister anymore. She wouldn't even bother protecting her; the others could do that if necessary. She would only worry about herself.

She vowed it.


	5. Secrets

"You're unnaturally quiet today." Astraea did not turn around at Iroh's approach. "Why are you here instead of with the others?"

When he sat down beside her, she sighed and continued to stare out at Republic City. The sun glinted off some of the buildings, creating different colors on the metal. She could feel the energy radiating from each citizen, even from so far away. "Sometimes I need time alone to think."

"Yue's been quiet, too. Bolin took her out to see the arena, thinking he could cheer her up." She saw him glance at her but paid no heed.

"She can do whatever she likes. I'm not holding her back anymore." She stiffened, remembered her vow, and relaxed with another long sigh. "I'm not going to act like a protective older sister when she doesn't need me. She _hasn't_ needed me in a while. You heard me when I was with Bumi." She faced him then, a cold steel in her golden eyes. "I don't care about her. At all. Yue keeps thinking it was me who left her behind, me who made her get hurt so much. But it's not true. I've only tried to keep her from growing up too quickly, and…"

She bit her tongue before she could blurt out the horrible memory. Iroh blinked in surprise at her abrupt silence. "Whatever has you concerned, it might be better for you to talk out." He stood anyway, knowing their conversation was over.

Adding to her own shock, she grabbed his wrist when he turned to walk away. "You might be right," she admitted softly. Iroh looked down at her curiously, and Astraea pulled him back down to sit with her. "I've never told anyone this. You have to promise not to tell anybody, either." Something flickered beyond the depths, like it had when he found her with Bumi. He nodded solemnly. For the first time, Astraea shared her past with who she once would've considered an outsider. Yue had had a friend once, one she shared everything with, and as Astraea told Iroh about everything, she found more and more reasons to hate her sister.

"Wow." He raked a hand through his hair. "That's… rough."

She snorted sarcastically. "Thanks," she muttered, pointedly turning her back on him. "I knew I shouldn't have told you anything. Most things are better kept as secrets."

"Hey." He gently turned her back to him, ignoring the death glare he was receiving. "I never gave you any reason to close in on yourself, did I? In fact, I think I just gave you an outlet." He smirked, which set her blood on fire.

"Don't be an arrogant fool." She stood, brushing off his hand. "My life has always been a secret, so the fact that I just shared it with you…" She shook her head. "I don't know what came over me, but you should know that it won't happen again. I'm not someone who goes against everything she believes in." Changing the subject, she continued: "Won't Asami be looking for you?"

He shivered, and she smiled wickedly. He got to his feet. "She's… interesting, I'll give her that. She's had a tough life, too."

"When?" Astraea exclaimed, enjoying this far too much. "She was spoiled rotten by her parents, and then by her father, and then she faced the fact her father worked as an Equalist? You call _that _a hard life? Trust me, I've seen people worse than _me, _and that's saying something." Beneath her amusement, she was pissed.

"Not as hard as you, I meant," he amended, flashing her an apologetic look. He knew she was using entertainment to block off everything else. "And anyway, she should really stop. I've told her that for quite a while now" – Astraea forced away the urge to punch the rich girl next time she saw Asami – "but she doesn't get it."

"She wouldn't," Astraea reminded him caustically. "She's used to getting everything she wants."

Iroh smiled ruefully. "So am I," he confessed.

"Of course. Beautiful spoiled rich girl falls for pretty-boy spoiled rich prince." She glared at him once more. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Would you listen?" he chastised. "I never said I wanted her. I think I even said I didn't on numerous occasions."

Making a habit never to blush, Astraea bit back a smile when she didn't. She knew he was used to making girls forget themselves, and she was proud that she'd gone through so much practice earlier in life to keep up her stony exterior now. "So, that being said, what _do _you want?" she inquired, trying hard not to read his aura. It would ruin the fun of messing with him.

"This." He pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. Astraea relaxed despite herself. Yue had already gotten Bolin to recover from his Korra crush. She was happy yet again. The eighteen-year-old with the fiery temper had to admit she was relieved to get lucky for once, as well. Iroh pulled away, touching his forehead to hers. "Err… sorry."

She smirked. "Don't be. Just don't tell my sister or the others."

"Deal." He released her with one more brief kiss and led the way back to the main part of the island.


	6. The Capture

"And this," Bolin said in a grand voice, "is where Mako and I used to live."

Yue had to admit, even through all the reconstruction, the arena was gorgeous. "It's almost completely destroyed," she observed sadly, gazing around the attic.

Bolin raked a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know. I came back here a few times without Mako knowing. The Equalists did a good job ruining this place, but we've all been working pretty hard to restore it. Some more than others," he added ruefully.

"Well," a cold voice interrupted. Yue felt the tug of Bloodbending and resisted beautifully. She heard a soft thump next to her and saw in rising horror that Bolin had been knocked out. The newcomer appeared intrigued. "Are you one of us, little Bloodbender?"

Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept her voice steady. "What did you do to Bolin?" she demanded.

The intruder shrugged. "I'm sure you know exactly what I did. Come with me, and I promise that he'll be okay."

"I…" She glanced at her companion, brow furrowed. "I'm not one of you," she said at last. "I don't know who you are, or why you might think that, but my sister won't be happy if she finds I've gone missing." _Or will she? _a harsh voice asked in the back of her mind.

"Believe me," the intruder replied. "She won't even know you're gone."

###

"Where's Bolin?" Mako inquired. There was a glint almost like fever in his eyes.

Astraea shrugged. "I haven't seen him or Yue all day."

"You're not _worried_?" Asami asked incredulously. "Why not!"

Feeling the air heat up around her, Astraea shoved the rich girl out of her way. "I am not going to pretend like she needs me anymore. She's grown up, much to my previous dismay, and it's about time I moved on from that part of my life. If you have any objections, lay off." She glared at Asami. "You know nothing of what I've been through, the hardships I've seen. You can just go back to acting like the world is perfect if it suits you so much." She turned her back, but Mako caught her arm.

"Please, Astraea. I think something might've happened to them."

Iroh walked over to join them with Tenzin and Korra. "What's wrong?" He glanced at Astraea, who refused to meet his gaze.

"Bolin and Yue are missing." Asami made at face at the other girl. "Astraea doesn't care."

Tenzin stiffened. "I'll alert Bumi and the White Lotus." He hurried away.

Korra met Astraea's challenging gaze. "You can sense their energies, though, can't you? You'd be able to tell if something was wrong."

"_If _I could find them. Sometimes I can't work my Bending from this far away." She did not want to find Yue, anyway. Better that the sixteen-year-old learned her lesson this time without that perpetual shield.

Chief Beifong joined them, too. "We should head over to Republic City right away, then. If there's a chance you can find them, if they are indeed in trouble, my forces should be notified ASAP." She had been reinstated once her Bending had been restored.

Iroh pulled Astraea out of earshot of the others briefly. "You don't want to find her, do you?" he whispered, just in case.

Astraea burned his hand off her arm. His amber eyes went wide with shock. "I don't care what happens to her," she growled. "I'll help locate Bolin for Mako's sake, but Yue can help herself." She knew that Yue was scared, but she was putting on a brave face for Bolin's safety. _"Believe me, she won't even know you're gone." _Who was _that_? Some distant, dried-up part of her came back to life. She fought the urge to double over in pain. Her other half was in trouble, and she was acting like everything was fine.

The general recognized the sudden guardedness on her face. He glanced back at the others, who were heading in the opposite direction. "Please agree to this, Astraea. They're in danger, aren't they? What if something happens to them?"

"Then I'll kill whoever's harming them." Her anger was directed somewhere else now. If anything hurt her sister, she would destroy it. Nothing and no one could stand in her way.

A faint smile ghosted his lips when he saw the flames return to the golden depths. "I thought so. Let's tell the others that you'll help." She followed him closely.

"You realize I hate you, right?"

He smirked. "I had a feeling."

"Good." She jogged ahead, all her old instincts returning. She wanted Yue to come back in one piece. She knew who had taken her sister, even if the younger girl did not realize it quite yet. Pretty soon, she would. Hopefully, Astraea would be there to help her through it.


	7. Reminders

**Finally I got this out! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. You might not get another update until I go on Christmas break. Just a heads-up.**

Korra and Astraea rode Naga, while Mako, Asami, and Iroh took the boat and then the car. Astraea jumped off the polar bear-dog when Naga slowed to a walk, casting out her senses to find Yue's energy.

"Guys!" She whipped a tornado around her – or, rather, her anger did. Iroh stepped through it easily and grabbed her wrist. Korra's eyes were starting to glow, and Astraea blinked. "Sorry. No Avatar State."

The young Avatar shook her head. "When we find Yue and Bolin, we're going to have to find out why the three of us are so connected."

"Agreed." She turned to where she had picked up traces of Bloodbender. "We need to go to the arena. I think Bolin was showing Yue the attic where you used to live, and then they were taken by…" She clamped her jaws shut. _No. Don't tell them yet. _

"What are we waiting for?" Asami headed in the direction Astraea indicated. Iroh and Astraea exchanged a glance. "Um, guys, I think they might be on borrowed time, if you're so worried."

_What will you do to us?_

_Use you as bait for the Avatar and that half-breed sister of yours. _

Astraea closed her eyes. Only on energy senses, she noted that Naga was staring with her ears pricked in the opposite direction of the arena. Traces of bending came to Astraea; she reopened her eyes and hopped on Naga's back. "Go search the arena. Korra, you can practice what we talked about. Mako, come with me." He mounted beside her without hesitation. She met Iroh's gaze. "Protect Korra with your life if you have to. Whatever has happened isn't good." The general dipped his head.

Naga took off without any signal from Astraea. She felt Mako's coiled muscles at her back, instinctively knowing that he wanted this over with as much as he wanted a fight. His anger was almost palpable.

Fire danced along her skin. _I'm coming for you, Yue. Don't give up on me. _"I don't know what we'll find," she admitted reluctantly.

Mako lightly touched her back for a second. The warmth of the flames spread over him, too, not burning but still unsafe. Naga barely seemed to notice. "I kind of figured. We'll get them back no matter what." It sounded as if he added _"we have to" _under his breath, but Astraea wasn't sure.

Naga halted outside a lodge-like building. Astraea's nerves jangled a warning. "They're here," she breathed.

Her companion slid to the ground. "Or they were here long enough to leave a decent trail," he remarked grimly. "Be prepared for the worst." She dropped down next to him.

"I taught you that."

"We need all our skills, right?" he whispered. She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly despite her rage, and followed him stealthily around to one of the windows. They ducked behind a tree, covered by undergrowth. Without seeing the polar bear-dog she still knew that Naga had moved off where she would be unnoticed. "Someone is definitely in there," Mako observed quietly, peering out from their hiding place. "I can't see th–" He stiffened suddenly. "Tarrlok."

Astraea felt a jolt of recognition. "The old council member?" she muttered, peeking out from the other side. Only one face that passed the window was even vaguely familiar. "Noatok."

"You know him?" Mako inquired softly.

"Unfortunately," she growled. So much for only worrying about herself. "We ran into him once when he was just beginning to become Amon. He was in a half-half state. And he was bent on destroying the Benders, starting with the Avatar." Her expression darkened. "As well as her protectors."

Mako rested his hand on her shoulder. "He wants you and Korra, then. Why did you come if you're in danger?" She looked away, burning his hand off like she had with Iroh. Mako sighed. "You're going to have to tell us eventually, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Just not yet." She narrowed her eyes, refocusing on the lodge. "Let's go now. They're in the front. Our siblings are in the cellar." _Where Korra was when she disappeared for that time, _she added silently, picking up memories of this place. They slipped to the back door unnoticed. Getting inside would be another matter.

Chi-blockers dropped down from the roof. The door slid open. Astraea tried to determine who was worse and couldn't find an answer. "Well, it's a pleasure to see you again," the malicious voice commented. A rush of Bloodbending pulled them inside. "The four of us have so much to catch up on," Noatok commented, eyes gleaming with triumph. He released his hold on them, but they were already rooted to the spot with fear.

_Wait a second… _Astraea thought. _Let's see if I can work an illusion…! _

She turned her own horror at being trapped into a complicated illusion for Amon. Tarrlok was somewhere nearby; she unleashed Mako's on him, freezing the brothers and giving the two invaders a chance to rescue their siblings.

"Don't ask what I did. I might not be able to do it ever again." She rushed down to the cellar. Mako followed her more slowly, keeping half his attention on the chi-blockers probably surrounding the cabin and the frozen terrorists behind them. "Bolin? Yue?" she began hesitantly. Bright silver eyes shone out of the darkness, and Astraea snapped her fingers. A glowing ball of fire darted to the ceiling and hovered near the broken light, providing for it. Bolin was unconscious, Yue standing over him protectively. The younger girl flung herself into her sister's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Shh, little moon, it's okay."

Mako came down. He met Astraea's gaze. "Can you wake up Bolin?" he suggested, walking over to his brother.

Astraea pulled back from Yue enough to stare into her misty gaze. "How badly was he knocked out?"

"I can't help him," she whispered hoarsely.

_Thought so. _"Mako, could you…?" He wrapped his arms around Yue, and she buried her face against his chest. "She's had enough happen to her recently." Astraea kneeled beside Bolin. "Come on, Bo…" His breathing was too shallow, probably from being _asleep _for so long. Naga growled outside; the rumble of a car engine could be heard, along with footprints from the chi-blockers. "Korra and the others are here," she explained, not looking up from her work. It took a little longer than she wanted, but she got him stable enough so that they could move him back to Air Temple Island.

Korra, Asami, and Iroh rushed down. "We took care of the chi-blockers, and Tarrlok and Amon are upstairs staring at nothing," Korra reported.

"Get a healing flow over and into his heart," Astraea ordered. "Keep it there. Mako, help Korra bring him to Naga. Both of you head back to the island as fast as you can." They set to work immediately. "Asami, take Yue out to the car and follow the others. Iroh and I will clean up here."

The rich brat did not seem happy, but she listened when she saw the state Yue had caved into. Her steely face even softened a bit.

When they had gone, Astraea leaned heavily against the wall. Iroh looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm exhausted." She pushed herself upright, but so much bending in so little time was taking its toll. In most situations she could use her power all she wanted, yet this was one of the few times that resisting, fighting, and bending had to be combined. Neither she nor Yue was supposed to do everything they knew at once, or _this_ would happen.

"Here." Iroh slid her arm around his shoulders, taking some of her weight. "You realize you just sent our only form of transportation home, don't you?"

"Did I?" She smirked and emitted a whistle through her teeth. A shirshu raced out of the woods. "Meet Ookami."

His amber eyes went wide. "They haven't been seen in years."

"Since Aang's time? I know." She smiled and carefully stroked Ookami's muzzle. "Why do you think I keep mine a secret? I know a lot of people with shirshus. We don't like others finding out." She clicked her tongue, and the animal crouched closer to the ground. "Well? Are you getting on, or do you want them to get you?" she inquired.

He took her offered hand and jumped up. Noatok and Tarrlok came out of the lodge, radiating anger. With a press of her heels, Astraea signaled for Ookami to use her tongue and then leave. The shirshu responded, leaving the terrorists paralyzed on the ground behind them.


	8. Breaking Storm

**So sorry I took forever to update! I was planning to give you guys another chapter for the holidays, and… well, I got caught up with school. Happy New Year! Here you go.**

"What do you think of my sister?" Yue rasped as Korra healed her scratches. Some of them were fairly deep.

The Avatar shrugged. "What about her?"

"She's a pain, isn't she?" The younger girl sighed. "And yet she's so determined… so powerful… it's like nothing can stop her."

Korra put the water back into the pot Pema had brought in. "What is this about?" she inquired carefully. Uncomfortable with the subject, she hoped Yue would drop it. The sixteen-year-old closed her eyes. "Why does your sister not trust you? Why do you act like she's so problematic, and then turn around and act like she can save all our problems?"

"I did something in the past that I probably shouldn't have," she admitted quietly.

Meanwhile, Astraea and Iroh went around (on foot) patrolling Republic City. She wanted to keep Ookami away from the public eye for as long as possible – ideally forever. Asami was getting on her and Iroh's last nerves; Korra was busy healing Yue; Mako was with Bolin. And Astraea felt her thoughts were too unorganized to go back to Air Temple Island, anyway. Tenzin, Lin, Pema, and Bumi would all be there, all acting like the authority figures they had come to be.

She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Iroh asked, ignoring the admiring look a passing girl gave him.

Astraea glared at the girl until her eyes would have had to reappear in the back of her head. She cracked her neck, feeling her muscles loosen. "Just thinking about the way it was before."

"Before what?" he prodded. She gave him a warning scowl, annoyed that he would try to get that out of her again. Hadn't she made it clear she didn't want to talk about her past with anyone? But then, Bumi had brought back the memory in the first place… "Astraea," he said.

She kept walking.

Unfortunately, he kept the pace. "Astraea," he tried again, this time grabbing her wrist. Her golden gaze turned a little less brilliant, a little more… dark. Iroh blinked at the anger burning on her face. "You should be able to trust me by now, yet I guess that was just short-lived hope," he snapped. Spirits, he could have as bad a temper as her.

With a sigh, she looked at where his hand prevented her from moving. He gave her a near-identical warning look and let go. "No one knows what I've been through," she growled. "No one understands me."

"I might have once. Or at least, I thought I did."

"That's exactly it. You _thought _you did. _No one understands me!" _she repeated almost explosively, taking off in the opposite direction. She knew how to run. She knew how to fight. She knew how to put her guilt on others and make them feel outlandish. How did all these skills fare in the long run when she didn't know how to keep her loved ones from death's grasp?

_You don't love Iroh, _that little voice in her head hissed. _You don't love anyone. That girl died long ago. Died along with Yue's innocence… died when your parents were killed. _

_Wrong, _she told the voice, not noticing the tears running down her face until rain mixed with them. She looked up at the clouds, her heart pounding in time with the thunder that rumbled. She knew a storm's energy, even. Closing her eyes and letting the storm take her where it wanted to, she thought:

_That girl died before I was even born. _


	9. A Continuing Feud

The crackle of a storm's energy made Mako look up. Bolin was resting, finally, and he had no clue where any of the girls – or Iroh – was. Astraea materialized in front of him, appearing breathless. He knew well enough that she could explode into action at any given moment under any circumstances.

_Never underestimate me. _

"What happened?" Mako asked calmly.

Astraea shrugged, her golden eyes dulled. "This and that. Patrol was uneventful… at least until I left."

"You made it back to Republic City pretty easily, then." He watched her gaze darken even more. "How? You didn't have that much of a ride left, last I saw."

"I have my own powers," she said vaguely. "I can handle myself."

Mako glanced at his brother, still sleeping. "Yeah, I saw. I'm pretty sure anything could come at you and you would be perfectly fine. And still win a battle if it came down to it."

"Thanks." Her voice was distant, almost harsh.

His fingers twitched. "Iroh didn't get on your nerves, did he?" The other eighteen-year-old looked at him sharply, her face livid momentarily. Then it was so blank he could not read anything into her emotions. "I'll take that as a yes. What's wrong?" She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her wrist and held tight. "Tell me," he pressed, amber irises glaring into yellow.

"Why," she snarled, "should I?"

"Because I understand what you're going through," he replied evenly.

Hatred burned in the depths as she murmured, "No one understands me."

_She has never had somebody to look out for _her _like she had to look out for Yue, _he realized. That was why she was giving him (and undoubtedly Iroh) such a hard time; she was unused to having people care about and/or for her. He met the raging expression calmly, being sure to hide all emotion from his face. Whatever was eating at Astraea needed to be spoken aloud, yet he could not pry too much. She was already on edge.

Before either of them could speak, Bolin was there, yawning and stretching as he always did when he woke up. "That was _terrible_," he exclaimed. Unaware of what had just occurred, he grabbed the food Mako had prepared.

"As usual, great timing, bro." Mako rolled his eyes. He turned back to Astraea, who looking like a caged animal, ready to run away. She could've merely burned his hand to get him to let go already. "You have to tell someone sometime."

Astraea clenched her jaw in a way that made him wonder if she was holding back tears. Between his fingers, her radial pulse thundered irregularly. "I can't," she finally managed to get out, and promptly collapsed.

Catching her before she hit the ground, Mako swore under his breath. "Bo, go get Korra and bring her here. Nobody else, deal?" He knew that no matter what he did to help her, if there was a person she currently was not talking to present, she would never forgive him. She seemed too familiar to him to risk losing their friendship.

Groggy, Astraea touched her hand to her forehead. Bolin still wasn't back with help. Mako sensed the change in her rather than saw, with his back to her initially. He whirled when he knew she was awake.

Her eyes were now a light brown. Mako didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. "You helped me when I was pushing you away," she commented softly, taking the cup he handed her. She stared into it, unable to fathom such a thing.

Mako smiled reassuringly. "That's what friends are for," he reminded her.

As if only just realizing her thirst, she downed the cup of water. "Every friend I've ever had betrayed me." Everything about her was tense. She could not relax, he knew, until she got it out of her system… whatever was hurting her inside. "I half-expected you to leave me alone and wait for me to come to on my own. I could hear you talking to Bolin, though, and you sent help." She finally met his gaze. "Thank you." Before he could reply, she swept on: "Not even Kya would've done that for me. She always favored Yue over me." Venom lined her sister's name. Mako forced himself not to question that topic quite yet.

"Like I said, it's what friends do." He gave her more water. "I would never let one of my friends suffer alone."

The creak of a stair cut their conversation off. Korra, followed by Bolin, walked into the loft. "Are you alright?" she asked her co-mentor.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Just a little dazed. I didn't realize I was still so exhausted."

Still watching for changes in her expression even though her attention was on talking to Korra, Mako saw the briefest flash of pain. He knew not to mention this conversation to anyone. If he found the right moment, he might press further on the subject. _I don't know if you're incredibly like me… or if it's more than a coincidence. _

What if they had some familial connection?


	10. Author's Note

**In all honesty, I have no idea where this story is going. I'm probably not going to update it for a while because of that. I need to figure out the way I wanted it to end in the first place and work on it from there. Details in the middle are always so much easier that way. **

**As always, if any of you have any ideas, feel free to leave a review or message me. Hopefully I'll be able to update this story again soon. If not, then to any reader still faithful to it, I'm sorry I'll be making you wait.**

**Writer's block is such a nuisance. **


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